Abstract
Objective: To Understand the Epidemiology of Cycling Fractures. Cycling injuries are increasing in incidence but there is, as yet, very little information about which fractures are associated with cycling. Methods: We have undertaken a prospective study of cycling fractures in adults over a one-year period in 2010- 11. All in-patient and out-patient fractures in patients aged ≥ 16 years were examined. Results: The results show that 3.6% of all fractures are caused by cycling and that the highest incidence in males is between 30-39 years of age with the highest incidence in females being between 50-59 years. The highest incidence in all types of cycling is in young males following road traffic accidents. Overall 86.5% of the fractures were in the upper limb and 29.3% were around the shoulder with clavicular fractures being the most common cycling fracture. The commonest lower limb fracture was the proximal femoral fracture, this usually being considered to be an osteoporotic fracture. We believe that this fracture occurs in cycling because of the use of shoes that are fixed to the pedals. There were very few foot fractures associated with cycling. Conclusions: Cycling is a common cause of fractures. It is the commonest cause of fracture after road traffic accidents and the third commonest cause of fracture after sports injury. Our results demonstrate the importance of protective clothing and cycle paths.
Highlights
Cycling is increasingly popular in many countries
The overall incidence of injuries associated with cycling is difficult to determine as not all cycling accidents are reported but UK Government statistics indicate that the number of fatalities has decreased since 2005 the numbers of cyclists that sustained injuries rose during this period with increased rates of injury being recorded in both seriously injured and slightly injured cyclists [3]
A recent insurance study in Tasmania showed that 20.7% of claims after road traffic accidents were for fractures these being the commonest types of injury leading to a claim [4]
Summary
Cycling is increasingly popular in many countries. In Australia it has been estimated that that there was a 20.9% increase in bike trips per day between 1985/86 and 2011 in people over 9 years of age [1]. The overall incidence of injuries associated with cycling is difficult to determine as not all cycling accidents are reported but UK Government statistics indicate that the number of fatalities has decreased since 2005 the numbers of cyclists that sustained injuries rose during this period with increased rates of injury being recorded in both seriously injured and slightly injured cyclists [3]. This increase is mirrored in a study of insurance claims by road users where there was a significant decrease in the frequency of claims by all road users except cyclists [4]. We can find no previous study of the overall epidemiology of cycling fractures
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